"The holder of authority is like the rider of a lion - he is envied of his position but he well knows his position." (Ali bin Abi Talib, the Fourth Caliph of Islam)

"The statesman who should attempt to direct private people in what manner they ought to employ their capitals, would not only load himself with a most necessary attention, but assume an authority which could safely be trusted, not only to no single person, but to no council or senate whatever, and which would nowhere be so dangerous as in the hands of a man who had folly and presumption enough to fancy himself fit to exercise it." (Adam Smith, Wealth of Nations, 1776)

"Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth." (Albert Einstein)

"We have to hate our immediate predecessors to get free of their authority." (D.H. Lawrence)

"When you make your peace with authority, you become authority." (James Douglas Morrison, lead singer of The Doors)